Coming Home
by ucsbdad
Summary: A short AU story set at the end of what would have been the canon season one. COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

Coming Home

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: Luke, I am your….No, wait. That's wrong. I'm not Castle's father. Rating: K Time: An AU story beginning at what would be the end of season one.

"How are you feeling today?"

He shrugged. "Still a little fuzzy around the edges."

"Um."

He had found that doctors liked to say that.

"Could you be more specific?"

"The headaches are still there and the nausea. My vision and hearing are normal, at least according to the other docs. My memory is good, except I can't remember anything from the time we exited the Salang Tunnel and waking up here."

The doctor nodded. "That's to be expected. It's unlikely you'll ever remember that."

"Not sure I want to."

"Um." The doctor said, noncommittally. He looked at a e-tablet, scanned some paper documents and briefly wrote something. "I want to send you back to the US, Sergeant. We've done all we can do here at Landstuhl. But not to Benning. I know your type. You'll get bored and want to do something that'll impact your recovery. Do you have family?"

He shook his head. Even now it hurt to answer that question.

"No family at all?"

He managed a grin. "I have an ex-wife. I'd be safer in the 'Stan."

"There are several fine military hospitals…."

He had no desire to get sent to some hospital where no one knew him. "I do own a place in New York, Manhattan, to be exact."

The doctor smiled. "Manhattan. Excellent. We've been sending active duty people to the VA Medical Center in the Bronx. They do great things with TBI patients. All you really need is time, you know, and you'll heal. I'll get the paperwork started, Sergeant."

"Thank you, Captain."

The doctor grimaced. "Please. Call me doctor. I actually had to work to become a doctor."

He landed at JFK with one small bag that contained mostly military items. What little else he had was somewhere in storage in Georgia. He had decided it was nothing he'd need. He decided to sit up front by the driver. He hated not being able to see everything. Sometimes he wondered if that would ever stop. Mostly he didn't wonder.

"Hey, Sarge, you're a Ranger?" The cabbie asked.

"Looks like."

"My old man was with the Topic Lightning in 'Nam. When I went in I filled out my dream sheet for Hawaii. Got sent to Fort Useless instead. I was in from '85 to '88. Never went anywhere. I guess you've been all over."

He grinned. "More like it's been all over me."

He paid the taxi off and took the elevator to Black Pawn Publishing. Ellie, the receptionist was still there and still pretty although she must have hit fifty.

"Can I help you, sir?" Then she lifted her glasses from the chain around her neck. "Oh, Mr. Castle. It's so good to see you again." She rushed around her desk and hugged him tightly. "It's been way too long since you were here."

"Much too long, Ellie. I called Gina and told her I was dropping by. Is she in?"

"Richard? Is that you?"

He decided that Gina was still the tall, blonde ice queen she'd been when he'd last been to Black Pawn.

She walked forward and put her hand on his face and then the side of his head. "My God! What happened to you?"

He tried to laugh it off. "I had an argument about right of way with a mountain. The mountain won."

"Does this mean you'll be getting out of the Army?" Gina's eyes gleamed at the thought. "You're an excellent writer and Derrick Storm could use a few new adventures."

He shook his head. "Even if I got out, which I won't be doing, I couldn't do another Derrick Storm. I've seen too much of the real world for that. But, how are the book sales going?"

She led him back to her office and brought up a nice power point presentation for him. Sales for his books in the US were anything but brisk, but translated copies were being sold in Eastern Europe. Deals had been made in Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary, with deals in the offing for the Baltic Republics, Slovakia and Rumania. They were working on other countries.

"Richard, Monarch Pictures still wants to do a Derrick Storm movie, but we could get a much better deal if we had a whole series of books to offer, to make it a franchise, like the Bond movies."

He just shook his head. "Thanks for the briefing. I have to go see my lawyers now about my finances. See you, Gina." And he was gone.

He didn't know his lawyers' receptionist and she didn't know him. After a few minutes a stranger came out and introduced himself. "Ray Moore. I'm afraid Jerry is at your loft. There' a problem getting the tenant out. I really don't know what it is, though. Jerry did leave you a spreadsheet of your investments we're been managing." He pointed to the spreadsheet." If you'll notice, we've been conservative with the bulk of your money. But, we did take a little flyer on an IT company called StoKo. They were bought by STS technology and the synergy between their products was…."

"Did I make any money?" He interrupted.

"We put in a hundred thousand and got back five hundred K. We put most of it back into conservative positions…."

"So I have enough to live on for the next couple of months?"

"Certainly. Way more than enough."

"Have a nice day."

The building looked the same, but they had a new doorman. Luckily the man had been well briefed on the owners and let him in with no problems. He took the elevator to his floor and found the door was open. He could hear Jerry arguing with a woman.

"Look, it's not like I'm trying to stay here. I have everything packed, see? But the place I was supposed to move to had a fire and I won't be able to get in for a couple of months. I had a back up plan, but my friend decided to follow her new boyfriend to Colorado and sublet her place out from under me."

"I understand all of this. But, the owner is arriving today and he wants to live here. I need you to move out. Now!" That was Jerry.

He moved closer to the door so that he could see in a bit. Jerry was arguing with a tall, slim brunette. From what he could see from behind, she was attractive. And angry. Then his eye caught something on the end table by the couch. A book. One of his books.

He stepped into the loft. "Cut her some slack, Jerry. After all, she's reading one off my books."

She turned around and glared at him. His estimate went from attractive to gorgeous. "One of your books?"

He pointed to the book with a bookmark in it.

"That's _my_ book." She said possessively. "All of your books are in the bookcase. I haven't touched a one."

He smiled at her and went over and picked up the book, holding the back cover by his face so she could see him and his photograph. "My book, see? I wrote it."

"You're Richard Castle?"

He shook his head. "Not anymore. Rick Rodgers, Staff Sergeant, Infantry, US Army. The cammies are kind of a giveaway." He motioned to the camouflaged fatigues he wore.

"Oh. I wondered what had happened to you, Mr. Castle. There were…"

"Rodgers, not Castle. But call me Rick. And I'm sure we can work something out. As for what happened to me….it was 9/11. If you were in New York then…" He left the rest unsaid.

"I was there. I'm a cop. I was a uniform on 9/11. I was at the scene….."

He took two steps forward and took her face in his hands. "My God! You're Kate.!" He turned to Jerry. "She can stay here. As long as she wants. Hell, she can have the place."

"What?" Jerry shrieked. "Are you out of your mind, Rick?"

"She saved my life that day. I was running like hell when the first tower collapsed and I just kept running toward it. She stopped me. It wasn't easy, but Kate here stopped me. I owe her, Jerry. Big time."

"Rick! You're leasing the damned place at less than half of the market value and you want to give the place to a complete stranger? Be real!" Jerry had left shrieking behind and was at wailing.

Kate grabbed him and turned him around. "Look, if saved you, I was doing my job, nothing more. And if I hadn't stopped you, there were hundreds of cops, firemen and paramedics who would have. You don't owe me a thing, Mr. Castle."

"It's Rick. I'm not Castle. And as far as I'm concerned, I owe you."

"So, you're going to give me something very valuable for just doing my job?"

He thought about it and nodded. "That's right."

"That's what police Internal Affairs calls a bribe. I could get fired for that. Even be sent to prison."

"That's absurd. I'm not bribing you! You saved my life. That means something to me."

"And it means something entirely different to the NYPD. You will not give me this place and that is final."

He knew that he couldn't win this. "Okay, you get to stay with the same lease as before. Okay?"

"No!" Jerry yelled.

"Okay." She replied.

"Jerry, draw up the lease, Same as before and it'll be open ended. She can stay as long as she wants. Oh, and I need to get to the Bronx VA and check in. Can you give me a ride?"

"What happened to you?" Kate asked, noticing the now faint bruises on his head and face.

"IED in Afghanistan. I'm on medical leave while I recover."

"Where will you be staying?"

He shrugged. "I'll find a hotel. I can afford it."

"And suppose something happens to you. You'll be all alone."

"I'll be fine." He insisted. "I can take care of myself."

She shook her head. "Obviously, you can't take care of yourself or you wouldn't be on medical leave." She thought for a moment. "Rick, there are four bedrooms here. You'll stay with me. That way if something does happen you won't be all alone."

"Look, Officer…" He realized he didn't know her last name.

"Detective. Detective Kate Beckett. And you're staying here with me. I will not kick a wounded soldier out of his own house when he's been so nice as to let me stay here. Now, put your things upstairs." She checked her watch. "I have to go. I'm working on a kidnapping case."

"I guess I'm staying." He said once she was gone. "I'll get a cab to the Bronx."

"Just don't give the cabbie any of your stock. Okay?" Jerry said sourly.

Kate was eating a sandwich from a machine at her desk when the phone rang. The caller ID gave an unfamiliar number.

"Beckett."

"Do you like Italian?" Rick asked.

"How did you get my number?"

"It's on your lease form. So, for dinner, would you like Italian? I'm planning to make pasta carbonara. I looked in the cupboards and the refrigerator for something for breakfast. There were things growing in Styrofoam boxes in the freezer. There was a big green thing that I had to use all of my hand to hand combat skills to get into the disposal. After that, I decided I needed to go shopping. Pasta carbonara okay?"

"Rick, you don't have to cook for me. I'm usually too tired to cook when I get home, so I order something. That'll be…"

"No." He said firmly. "I'm not watching one of New York's finest eat takeout while I feast on Italian food. If pasta carbonara isn't okay, I can…."

Kate saw Ryan and Esposito coming out of the elevator. She did not want her current living arrangements to become office gossip. "Pasta carbonara is fine. Captain Montgomery wants us all to go home early tonight so we'll be fresh if the kidnappers call tomorrow. I'll be home about five thirty. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm in the middle of a case." She hung up.

As soon as Kate opened the door she could smell the food. If it tasted as good as it smelled, she was in for a treat.

Rick was in the kitchen, cooking. Kate walked to the dining room table. "You made a salad? And you got breadsticks?"

"Is oil and vinegar dressing okay?" He asked. "And I'm not sure about the breadsticks. I used to buy them from a little Italian bakery in what used to be Little Italy, but it's gone now. I looked on line and the bakery I got these from has good reviews, but you never can tell."

She looked at the bottle of wine Rick had set out. "Rick. This is very expensive wine. I've never had something this expensive."

"Then you should start. It's very good wine."

"Rick, I can't let you spend money on me like this."

"I'm spending money on me and asking you to join me. And don't worry about the money. I have several million left over from when I was an author. And I have spent very little of my pay this last eight months. The 'Stan isn't exactly known for high living. Base pay, combat pay, airborne pay, plus I learned enough Arabic to qualify for language proficiency pay, and it's all tax free. Don't worry about it."

"Can I help." She could tell she wasn't going to win this argument.

"Toss the salad? I'll be done in about ten."

She had just finished with the salad when there was a knock at the door. She went to answer it. When she did, Will Sorenson came in, holding files in one hand and a bag of food from a Chinese restaurant in the other.

"Hi, Kate. I thought we could eat and go over some of the…." He stopped when he saw Rick. "One of your detectives have the same idea?"

"I'm not a cop." Rick said. He would have said more, but Kate turned around and walked towards him, giving him a glare that would have stopped an M1 tank in it tracks.

"Rick lives here." She said, putting an arm around Rick. "Rick, this is Special Agent Will Sorenson. We're working together on the kidnaping case."

"Well. Actually…" Rick began, but was kicked by Kate.

"You didn't tell me that you were dating someone." Will said.

"I like to keep my private life private." She turned to Rick. "Is dinner almost ready, babe?"

"Yeah. Um, look, if you two need to work, I can go eat in the office."

Sorenson held up his hand. "Actually, I should just go back to my hotel and eat." He put the files down. "I can read the files on my laptop. Good night." He left quickly.

"Rick, I'm sorry I got you in the middle of this."

"I'd feel better about it if I knew what "this" is."

"We dated for about six months. Then he got a job offer in the FBI office in Boston. He never discussed it with me, he just took it and then asked me to join him. I refused and we broke up. Now he's back in New York and he's been hitting on me. And I'm not getting the kind of vibes that say, "I made a mistake, I'd like to get back together." The vibe I get is "I'd like to take you to bed." I don't need that. I'm sorry I got you in the middle of this,"

Rick shrugged. "That's not really very high on the scale compared to getting blown up by an IED. We're good." He checked his watch. "And dinner is ready. Would you like me to decant the wine?"

The food and the wine were excellent. Kate helped Rick clean up and then grabbed the pile of reports Will had left.

"That the kidnapping case?" He asked.

She just nodded.

"Need some help?"

"This is mostly financials. We got the ransom demand from the kidnappers today. They want; $750,000. Which is about all the Candelas have."

"Pretty specific. Someone knew them pretty well."

"We thought we had a suspect. Someone Teresa Candela fired a while ago. But he alibied out."

"I could help. Two sets of eyes are better than two."

Kate thought for a second. It couldn't hurt. She divided the pile in two and gave half to Rick.  
"When you get done with your half, we'll switch."

They had been at it for about an hour when Rick cleared his throat.

"Did you find something?" She asked.

"Not exactly." When she raised an eye brow he went on. "It's the adoption agency. I did some research once. You have to prove to the agency that you can financially support a child. I doubt if an adoption agency is as hard to crack as the CIA or the NSA."

Kate grabbed her phone and began texting.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"Texting my detectives, Ryan and Esposito, to meet me at the adoption agency. And letting my boss, Captain Montgomery know what we're doing." She smiled at him. "Good work, Rick."

For some reason he was very happy to be smiled at.

She wasn't smiling when she returned to the loft the next night. "I have bad news and worse news."

"That sounds like the start of a bad joke. What's the bad news."

"We can't find any evidence that the adoption agencies files have been hacked. But, they got a request for the birth mother for information on Angela. But she didn't fill out the request, the birth father did and forged her name. It turns out he got wounded in Iraq and can't have any more children. He just wanted to check on his daughter. See how she was. And he has a solid alibi. It looks like half of Manhattan saw him at his work. It's a dead end."

"So what's the worse news?"

"Will told everyone in my office that I'm living with a guy."

Rick shrugged. "Happens all the time. What's the big deal?

She took his hand and led him to the couch. "I need to tell you some things. When I was nineteen I was in college, Stanford, pre-law. I came home for Christmas, here in Manhattan. We decided to go out to eat. My dad and I got there first and waited for my mom. We waited for hours, called her cell repeatedly and finally went home. There was a detective there. He told us my mom had been murdered. The police wrote it off as random gang violence. They made no effort to solve her murder. That turned my life upside down. I dropped out of college and entered the police academy. I worked for five years on her case and got nowhere. I finally had to give it up. If I hadn't, I'd have fallen down a rabbit hole and stayed there."

Rick was confused. "What does that have to do with you having a boyfriend?"

She took a deep breath. "When I lost my mom, I couldn't stand to have that kind of loss again. It's like I built a wall around myself and wouldn't let anyone in. Will was the first person I dated even semi-seriously since college and that lasted six months. My best friend Dr. Lanie Parish has been hounding me to date. My two detectives haven't exactly been hounding me, but they do let me know I should have a life outside of work. Captain Montgomery does the same thing, in a fatherly sort of way. Finding out I'm living with a guy is the best news they've heard in years and it's a lie. I'm sorry, Rick. I shouldn't have gotten you into this, because now they all want to meet you. Tomorrow night."

"No problem. Actually, I'm the perfect fake boyfriend."

"And so modest, too." She said with a grin.

"No, I mean it. I'm being treated for traumatic brain injury. We can't go out clubbing, or anything with your friends. All we can do is stay home quietly at night while I heal. And when I'm better, I go back to Fort Benning and then downrange. You tell everyone that I'm a great guy, but married to my job, just like Will. No problem. Now, Detective Beckett, we need to get our stories straight."

"Stories straight?"

Rick smiled. "Like how many times should I goose you at dinner and how much tongue should I use when we kiss?"

"Rick!" She said, outraged, until she saw the grin on his face. "Okay. You pushed my buttons there. So what do you mean?"

"It's like constructing an alibi. When did we meet? Where? When did we start dating? Everything your colleagues will ask."


	2. Chapter 2

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: Luke, I am your….No, wait. That's wrong. I'm not Castle's father. Rating: K Time: An AU story beginning at what would be the end of season one.

The next morning as Kate was getting ready to walk out of her bedroom to go to work, she smelled bacon and other wonderful smells.

"Rick. What are you doing?"

"Making us breakfast." Was the reply. "You've heard of breakfast?"

She walked into the breakfast bar. "I usually just have a bear claw…."

"And a grande skim latte with two pumps of sugar free vanilla." He held out a cup. "You mentioned the coffee yesterday when you were on the phone. And I made a travel mug for you."

"Rick, you really don't have to…."

Again, he cut her off. "Of course I do. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I made bacon and scrambled eggs, hash browns, sausages, a couple of pancakes, toast and orange juice. Now sit down and eat, Detective Beckett." He said the last in a _faux_ stern voice.

She ate.

After Kate left, Rick went to find his clothes that he'd left in the loft. He was surprised at how important it suddenly was for him to make a good impression on Kate's friends. He finally decided on a dark blue suit with a wine colored shirt and no tie.

He sat nervously in Remy's waiting for Kate and her friends. Then he saw her coming towards him, trailed by a stern looking African-American man, a lovely woman who must be Dr. Parish, and two men who had to be Esposito and Ryan, her two detectives.

To his surprise, she wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a real kiss. Her tongue ran along his lips and he opened his mouth and explored her tongue for just a second until she pulled away.

"Hi, babe." She whispered.

"I missed you."

She laughed. "I was only gone for a few hours."

"You were gone. I missed you."

She turned around and introduced him to everyone. Montgomery looked on with almost fatherly concern, Dr. Parish looked at him appraisingly, Esposito challengingly, while Ryan had a friendly smile.

Once they were all seated, Captain Montgomery began the interrogation.

"So, Mr. Rodgers, tell is about yourself."

"If we're going to be formal, Captain, it's Sergeant Rodgers,"

"Hey, "Esposito interrupted, "I thought Sorenson said he wasn't a cop."

"I'm not. Richard Rodgers, Staff Sergeant, Infantry, US Army."

That caught Esposito's attention. "Yeah? Where you assigned?"

"Ranger Reconnaissance Company, Fort Benning."

"You're not joking, are you?"

"Espo!" Kate said angrily. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Just checking. There are more people out there who claim to be ex-Special Forces or Navy SEALS, or whatever, than ever served."

Rick pulled out his wallet and handed his ID card over. "I have a couple of copies of my orders as well." He handed a sheet of paper to Esposito.

The Hispanic detective nodded. "Ranger Recon all right. But your assigned temporarily to the VA hospital out in the Bronx. What happened?"

Rick nodded. "I got blown up by and IED just past the Salang Tunnel, headed for Bagram. Traumatic brain injury."

That got Lanie's attention. "Are you okay, Sergeant Rodgers?"

"It's Rick, and right now I'm just fine. But last night I woke up feeling nauseous."

"Why didn't you wake me?" Kate asked, taking his hand.

"And tell you what? I feel nauseous but I promise I won't throw up in bed? I sat up and in about ten minutes I felt better and went back to sleep."

"Next time, tell me." Kate said, the concern clear in her voice.

"So how did you meet Beckett?" Ryan asked.

Rick looked over at Kate and smiled. She smiled back. "The day I met Kate was the worst day of my life."

"You'd better have a good explanation for that, Soldier Boy." Lanie said, her eyes narrowing.

"And it was the best day of my life. We met here in Manhattan on September 11, 2001."

There was silence for a moment. Everyone at the table remembered the day.

"Kate may not have told you that I used to write under the name Richard Castle."

"Sweetie, he was your favorite author."

Kate just smiled. "He _is_ my favorite author."

"Anyway, I was in the offices of my publisher, Black Pawn, just bouncing some story ideas off of my editor when we heard the secretaries in the outer office screaming. We both ran out and the secretaries were pointing out the window. One of the World Trade Center towers was on fire. The secretaries said a plane had hit it. We turned on the TV, hoping that it was some sort of mistake, a publicity stunt or something. It wasn't."

"I ran out of the office and grabbed a cab. My mother and my daughter were in a restaurant at the top of the tower. I can't remember when, but the cab had to stop. The police were only letting emergency vehicles go. I got out and ran."

Kate could see tears form in Rick's eyes. She slid under his arm and hugged him.

"As I was running. I heard this unbelievably loud noise and saw a grey wall coming towards me. It was dust, soot and debris from the collapse of the tower. I was knocked down, but as soon as the dust cleared, I began running again."

Rick looked down at Kate. "And then the most beautiful woman in the world stopped me."

"Rick! I was covered in soot and dust. You'd have been lucky to tell I was a woman."

"Like I said, I was stopped by the most beautiful woman in the world. I tried to push past her, babbling about my mother and my daughter. She kept telling me that all I'd do was get in the way of the professionals trying to help. Finally, she put my arm behind my back and frog marched me about a block away. She told me if I moved from there, she'd handcuff me to a street light."

"You don't mess with Beckett." Esposito said with a smile.

"I sat there and after a while I noticed she was working, trying to get debris off of a vehicle. I went over to help her. It was an FDNY pickup. The passenger was dead, but the driver was still alive. Between the two of us, we managed to get him out and to an ambulance. Kate thanked me, but told me I'd have to leave. But I did find out her first name when another cop called to her."

Captain Montgomery frowned. "Okay, but how did you two get from 9/11 to living together?"

"In time, Captain."

"It's Roy."

"I went back to my loft. I couldn't believe my mother and my daughter Alexis were gone. But they were. Some years later I was told they'd found a few pieces of bone that DNA had identified as from my mother and Alexis. I intend to have them buried with me."

Rick shook his head and a tear fell.

"I just sat there. I didn't eat, drink, shower or do anything. Some of my friends came by and got me to eat and clean up. They kept coming around, taking care of me and trying to snap me out of my funk. Then one day the TV news was on. It showed pictures of US soldiers in Afghanistan chasing something called Al Qaeda. The news said they were responsible for the attacks. That got me out of my funk."

"You enlisted?" Espo asked.

"The next day. The recruiting sergeant wasn't too thrilled with a thirty-something playboy showing up to enlist, but I talked him into it. Before I knew I, I was off to Fort Benning, Georgia to become an infantryman."

"I did that at nineteen. I can't imagine doing it in my thirties." Espo said, shaking his head.

"My DI was quite a motivator. And I got help from the platoon. But I made it. That and airborne school. Just after I got my jump wings, some colonel called me into his office and asked if the rumors were true? That I was a wealthy author whose family had been killed on 9/11. When I told him it was true, he told me he could get me on a plane to A-Stan as a replacement. I ended up with the 101st Airborne Division."

"That still doesn't explain how you and Kate got together." Montgomery chided gently.

"I'm getting to that. After my enlistment was up, I reenlisted. I had no desire to go back to writing or do anything other than be a soldier. I went back to Afghanistan and to Iraq. Eventually, I became a Ranger. About a year and a half ago I was on leave in New York, intending to see a friend of mine who'd lost a leg. When I got to his home, his wife told me he was in the hospital and couldn't have visitors. I was kind of at a loss, but I decided I'd go get a real first class meal. But, for that I decided I'd need a suit. When I leased my loft, I left all the furnishing and everything, including my clothes. When I got to the loft, Kate was there. I had a hell of a time convincing her I wasn't some nut case, but I described my loft in great detail and even had her get one of my books so she could see my photo on the back cover. She told me my clothes were in the spare bedroom and let me go upstairs. I did notice she kept her hand on her sidearm the whole time, though."

"I did not." Kate said. "I took my hand off Glock after about ten minutes."

"I apologize." Rick said, winking at her. "I guess she felt bad about how she'd treated me and asked if I'd like some coffee. I accepted and we started talking. She wanted to know how a successful author ended up a soldier. I explained about how I'd lost my mother and daughter on 9/11 and how I'd run to the site but was stopped. All at once, we realized we'd met before. I asked her out to dinner and she accepted. We talked and we saw each other again, and when I had to leave, I asked if she'd mind if I wrote to her. She said she'd be happy if I did. So, we wrote, e-mailed and Skyped for the last year and a half."

"Sweetie, why didn't you tell us you were with Rick?" Lanie asked.

"Because I wasn't "with" Rick. And I was afraid of being teased for going all fangirl over my favorite author."

"We never would have…."Esposito began, only to be stopped by a kick under the table from Lanie. "Yes, we would have." He grinned. "Oh, would you have heard about it."

"When I came back to New York, I headed for the loft. I guess seeing each other in person showed each of us how much we'd grown to care for each other. It was like we'd been together in person for the last year and a half. She asked me to stay at the loft and I offered to sleep in the spare room."

Both Rick and Kate blushed.

"So where do you sleep now?" Espo asked, getting kicks from both Lanie and Kate.

"That's none of your concern, Espo." Kate said, but with a smile that told everyone where Rick slept.

The rest of the evening went well. Espo and Rick traded war stories and found they knew some people in common. Everyone seemed to like Rick and he liked Kate's colleagues.

When the dinner was almost over, Kate managed to get Espo alone for a second.

"Javi, you seem awfully impressed with Rick. What is a Ranger Reconnaissance Company?"

"Beckett, I was Special Forces. Special Forces are what they call second tier units. Us, Navy Seals, Marine Special Ops, the Ranger Regiment and a few others. First tier units are the Army's Delta Force, the Navy SEAL's DEVGRU and the Ranger Recon Company. The first two are mainly direct action units, like taking down that warlord in Somalia in '91. Ranger Recon goes to places no one else goes to. They're supposed to have been in Iran, North Korea, China, places like that. Rick is really hard core. Didn't he tell you all of this?"

Kate shook her head.

"He probably didn't want you to worry."

"And now I'm worried." She muttered.

When they got home, Rick smiled at her.

"So, how did your fake boyfriend do?"

"You did just fine. You can be my fake boyfriend anytime."

"And you can be my fake girlfriend anytime, too." He countered.

She leaned over and gently brushed her lips across his. Then she winked at him.

"Good night, Rick." She turned and headed for her bedroom as Rick went upstairs. From the stairs until he was in bed, Rick wondered what the kiss and the wink meant. Did the wink mean the kiss didn't mean anything? Or did the kiss mean something?

Meanwhile, Kate lay in bed, wondering if Rick would come to her bed. She was both pleased and disappointed when he didn't.

The next morning, Kate hadn't been gone for five minutes when she came back into the loft.

"Rick, I need to use your phone. Somehow both my car battery and phone battery are dead. I'll need to call the police garage and call for a cab."

"Why don't I drive you?"

She frowned. "In what?"

"Duh! A car."

"You keep a car here?"

"Doesn't everyone?'" Seeing her glare, he continued. "I have a car in the underground garage. Jerry has some kid take it out once a week, check the oil, tires, and whatever. I'm sure it's in great shape."

Once in the garage, he led Kate to bright red Ferrari.

Kate was amazed. "You keep an expensive sports car just garaged in New York? Why?"

He shrugged. "Suppose one of New York's finest needs a ride to a crime scene? How would she get there?"

Kate decided she had no answer to that one.

They pulled up outside the Candela's home just as Captain Montgomery walked by.

"Did you get a new ride out of the department, Kate? If so, tell me your secret."

Kate blushed slightly. "It's Rick's car."

"What time did you want me to pick you up? And where?" Rick asked.

Montgomery spoke before Kate could tell him that that wasn't necessary.

"Why don't you come in and look around. Your job is finding things out that people don't want known. Maybe you can be a help."

Rick looked at Kate for permission. "Okay?"

She nodded. "Why not."

As soon as he saw Rick, Will Sorenson headed towards him, Montgomery and Kate.

"You're bringing some cook to a crime scene? Forget about it, Beckett. He's out of here." He began to push Rick, but Rick didn't move.

"Special Agent Sorenson." Montgomery said coldly. "Sergeant Rodgers is a US Army Ranger and a reconnaissance expert. The NYPD thinks his abilities would be an asset to this investigation."

"This investigation is a Federal investigation. He goes. Now."

"You asked for the cooperation of the NYPD. We decide who's part of our team. Not you. He stays."

Sorenson got in Montgomery's face. "He goes. I'll call the Special Agent in Charge if I have to."

"And I'm sure he'll be fascinated to learn you're having a jurisdictional dispute with the NYPD instead of working full time on the kidnapping. And I can call the Chief of Police. And as I recall, he wasn't too pleased last year when the FBI took credit for taking down the Wilburn brothers when there wasn't an FBI agent within blocks of the bust."'

The two men glared at each other. Sorenson looked away first. "Fine. But he's your responsibility."

Rick hung around for hours but found nothing of any use. However, he was present for the argument between Sorenson and Alfred Candela about who would deliver the ransom. Alfred insisted that no police be involved, and Sorenson, and Kate, felt that Alfred was too emotionally close to the case to handle the drop.

"No problem. I'll handle it."

"You?" Both Kate and Sorenson said together.

"You both look too much like cops to make the drop. Sorry, Kate, but you move like a cop and nothing could keep Sorenson from looking exactly like an FBI agent. That leaves me. I don't look like a cop and I'm good at getting into and out of places."

No one exactly liked the idea, but no one had a better idea. And so, Rick Rodgers found himself carrying a backpack full of cash and following text messages that led him to a train station. He put the bag down and headed for the exit. That's when all hell broke loose.

Both Ryan and Esposito jumped men carrying the backpack, only to find no money. Rick looked around to see dozens of identical backpacks being carried away. The police managed to stop most of them, but not the one with the cash.

Once back at the Candela's they settled in to wait developments. The only advantage they had was that Rick had put the cell phone he'd given in the backpack with the GPS on.

"The GPS on the phone is gone." An FBI tech reported to Sorenson after about an hour.

The agent just shrugged. "Checking to see the cash was there and that there was nothing that could trace them is the first thing the kidnappers would do. It was a nice try, but it didn't work. Now we wait."

Rick pulled Kate aside. "He almost said that I had a good idea. Is he okay?" He whispered.

"He's upset." She whispered back. "We're both remembering the case we worked on before. Where the child was dead by the time we caught the kidnapper. And like he said, now we wait."

Later that night, Kate woke up to find Rick going through the stuffed animals on Angela's bed.

"What are you doing?"

"Go back to sleep, Kate."

"Rick? What are you doing?"

"I noticed that in every photo of Angela, she's holding this stuffed bunny. Alexis had a stuffed animal she just couldn't live without called Monkey Bunkey. In fact, Monkey Bunkey is still in her old room."

"So?"

"The rabbit isn't here. I've looked all over. The kidnapper took it."

She shrugged. "And?"

"The kidnapper knew Angela well enough to know to take the bunny. Someone knew her really well."

"We've checked the babysitters, the cleaning lady, the neighbors…."

"What about family?"

"We'd better wake Sorenson up and tell him about this."

Much later, Rick and Kate got back to the loft.

"We got Angela back, but everything turned to shit from there on in." Rick said, tiredly.

"I hope it isn't as bad as we think it is."

Rick snorted. "Her mom and her aunt will be in prison until Angela's an adult and that leaves her dad to take care of her. I can't see Alfred doing the nine to five to support Angela. He'll go through the money he has and then he'll start to resent the amount of time and money that Angela takes up. He'll dump her on some relative or give her over to the system and look for some other sucker to support his painting. I do not see a happy life for Angela Candela."

She nodded. "You're probably right, but I'm too tired and too upset to want to think about it. I just want to get some sleep." She headed for her bedroom, then turned back to Rick.

"Thanks for the help. We wouldn't have solved this without you."

"Thanks, but you're the detective here. You'd have figured it out."

She gave him a smile. "Goodnight."

"Tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow is more hopeful. I guess it's the writer still in me."

"I'm a cop. I'll just say goodnight."


	3. Chapter 3

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: Luke, I am your….No, wait. That's wrong. I'm not Castle's father. Rating: K Time: An AU story beginning at what would be the end of season one.

When Kate got home from the precinct the next evening, Rick had prepared a Mexican dinner for them.

"Not really Mexican, as I've been told by my Mexican-American friends, but Tex-Mex food. Sort of a Mexican and Texas barbecue and other stuff fusion."

"Is it edible?" Kate asked. "I didn't get lunch today since the FBI wanted about a hundred forms filled out to prove that they, and they alone, caught the kidnappers. I'm starving."

"I'll start dishing it out at once, senorita." Rick said with a grin.

When they were done with dinner, Rick brought out his laptop from the office.

"I have a surprise for you. I've been doing some writing."

"More Derrick Storm?" Kate asked. She had always loved the Derrick Storm books.

He shook his head. "No, I've seen too many super heroes get shot or blown up to do another of those. I'm writing about an NYPD homicide detective. She's been hurt, but wouldn't let that stop her. She's courageous, caring and determined. Not to mention wickedly smart and has haunting good looks."

"You're basing the character on me?" Kate asked, somewhat shocked.

Rick frowned. "You? Of course not. I'm basing it on Roz Karpowski."

She threw the remains of a taco at him.

"Of course, I'm basing her on you. I want you to read it. It's just a few chapters, a story outline and a lot of notes. Plus a lot of questions I need answers to about police procedures and such."

Kate took the laptop and began reading. She found something at once that she didn't like. "Nikki Heat? That's not a cop's name. It's a stripper name. You need to change it."

Rock shook his head. "No, it is a cop name. Heat is slang for cops. Now, a stripper name would be….."He stroked his jaw and thought for a second. "A stripper's name would be D.D. Bewbs. Or maybe Didi Cupps. Perhaps Q.T. Bottom. Say, how about Detective Harriet "Harry" Slitte? She could work Vice and…."

"Her name will be Nikki Heat." Kate said determinedly. "And I never want to hear those other names again. Capisce?"

"Understood." Rick said, unsuccessfully trying to hide his smile.

Kate read the rest of what he'd written.

"Okay. I like the premise and the characterization, but you need a lot of help on police procedures, slang, and the dynamics of a homicide squad. I can help you on that."

"I was thinking we could co-write it."

That stopped Kate cold. "Are you serious?"

"As serious as a heart attack." '

"Rick, I'm not a writer."

"I'm the writer. You're the cop. Together we'll write books. I'll want to write as Richard Castle again, since I still have something of a following, but I don't want anyone to know I'm a soldier."

"I don't want my own name on this either, Rick. I can't have my police career jeopardized by having people know who I really am."

"We could call you Nikki Heat." He suggested.

"My middle name is Houghton. We can use Katherine Houghton.'

Rick held out his hand. "To the partnership of Richard Castle and Katherine Houghton. Fifty-fifty?"

Kate took his hand. "Agreed."

When Kate returned from work the next day, she had a surprise for Rick.

"Captain Montgomery got a call from the chief of police today, thanking him for the work we did on the Candela kidnapping. The mayor was especially pleased that it was a 12th Precinct detective that noticed the missing bunny and broke the case, and not a Fed. Of course, Montgomery had to tell him it was you, and not a member of the NYPD."

Rick frowned. "How much trouble am I in?"

Kate laughed. "None at all. The mayor was pleased with Roy's out of the box thinking. The mayor even suggested you should tag along with me more often. Roy reminded him that you're an injured soldier and my boyfriend. There's a rule about colleagues dating. The mayor said he's not asking you to do anything dangerous and that we ask citizens with special knowledge or abilities for help all the time. He also said we're not colleagues since you don't work for the NYPD. Roy asked me to see if you're willing."

"A chance to work with you?" Rick laughed. "Of course I'm willing."

"We should tell Roy that you're writing again and that I'm your co-author. I'm not sure how he, or the NYPD, will feel about that."

"I used to play poker with the mayor back when he was a city councilman. Let me talk to him."

He did talk to the mayor and soon Rick was Kate's more or less unofficial partner. They worked cases in the day and wrote about Nikki Heat at night.

"So the killer is probably at some Russian mob run poker game in Chinatown?" Rick asked. "Does Vice know where we can find the game?"

Captain Montgomery shook his head. "They say they've been trying to infiltrate the Russians and Chinese for years, but with no luck. And you can't get near any games unless someone vouches for you."

"Lucky you have me here, then." He winked at Kate. "Excuse me, I have to go make a phone call."

We went to an unoccupied office and called an old friend.

"Stephen! It's me, Rick Castle. How are you?"

"Castle?" Stephen Cannel said, surprised. "I thought you were in the Army."

"I am, but I need a favor. I need to get into a Russian mob run game in Chinatown. Can you arrange it?"

"Are you out of your mind? No, don't bother answering. Of course you are. So, what's her name?"

"Pardon?"

"Rick, you wouldn't do this unless there was a woman involved. Who?"

Castle mentally shrugged. "Detective Kate Beckett, NYPD, homicide. We're writing a new book together about a lady cop. I'm sort of tagging along with her to get a feel for the cops' world."

"You're doing a hell of a lot more than tagging along if you want to get into a mob run game. Do you have any idea how dangerous those people can be?"

Rick's voice was flat and cold. "Steven, do you have any idea how dangerous I am?" Then he laughed. "So come on, get me in."

Rick rejoined his friends. "I know who to call and what to say. I'm in."

Montgomery shook his head. "You? No way. This is a job for a cop."

"And where is a cop going to get fifty thousand in walking around money?"

"Fifty thousand?" Both Kate and Montgomery said in unison.

"Fifty thousand." Rick repeated. "These guys play no limit poker. I can get fifty thousand from my bank tomorrow. How long will it take you to get fifty large out of One PP? If we use my money, I go with it."

No one liked the idea but everyone knew they'd probably be long retired before One PP gave up that kind of money. Rick was going to go.

Rick sat in a surveillance van in Chinatown with Kate, Ryan and Esposito. Kate finished putting the camera and microphone on Rick.

"Remember, we can see what you can see, and we can hear what you hear, but you can't hear us. Okay?"

"Got it."

As she watched him walk away, Kate worried. "I'm worried. He's too happy about this."

"He's bored." Esposito said. "He's used to a lot of adrenalin. Maybe you two should spice up your sex life."

Kate gave him her very best glare.

Rick's cover was that he was a soldier just back from the war in Afghanistan who was bored. He wanted some action, even if it was just playing cards.

"Playing cards is not enough for you?" Asked a Russian.

"I'm an Army Ranger. This barely keeps me awake."

"Ranger?" Said another Russian. "Almost as good as Russian _Spetsnaz_ , or so I hear."

Rick smiled. "And I heard that your special forces, _Spetsnaz_ , are almost as good as National Guard straight leg infantry."

The Russian started to stand up, only to be pulled down by a bearded Russian. "We come here to play cards. Not argue. Anyone want to argue, go elsewhere."

As Rick played, he casually looked around, making sure to get video feed of all the Russians back to the surveillance van.

"There!" Kate said, excitedly. "That one. He has a prosthetic little finger. That explains the marking on the vic's neck. He's our killer." Kate sat and waited for Rick to leave. "What's wrong with him? He must have seen the guy. Why doesn't he leave?"

"One, he's enjoying this." Espo said. "Two, he's winning. And three, if he gets up and leaves so soon, our suspect will get suspicious."

Rick continued to play and continued to win. After one big win, the Russians began talking to themselves.

"Shit! They think Rick is cheating. They're talking about killing him. Our suspect is offering to do the job."

"You speak Russian?" Espo asked.

"I did a semester abroad in Kiev." Kate switched to a Russian accent. "Sometimes when I am bored, I go to café in Little Odessa and pretend to be Muscovite." Kate got up and started to exit the van.

"What are you going to do? Lip gloss them to death?"

"Something like that. If I'm not back in ten minutes, call for back up and go in after us."

Kate left the van, and using her jacket as a mini dress, transformed herself into a Russian party girl. Once she had talked her way into the club, she looked for Rick. He was nowhere to be seen. She grabbed her phone. "Espo, can you tell me where Rick is?"

"He's in the kitchen. The Russian has a gun on him."

Kate headed into the kitchen and found Rick being held at gunpoint.

"Reekee! What are you doing with this handsome man? Do you forget all about poor Tatiana?"

The Russian turned to Beckett. "This does not….."

That was as far as he got before Rick dropped him with one punch. Kate pulled her handcuffs from her purse and bent over to cuff the suspect.

"Oh my god!" Rick muttered softly.

"What?" Kate demanded.

"Your legs. They're spectacular and they go all the way to your…."

"Rick! Call Espo for backup. And try to remember that you're supposed to be my lover. You've seen my legs. "She smiled at him. "And my ass. "She winked." And…everything else."

Hours later they got back to the loft.

"I'll have to try to remember this feeling for the books." Rick said, sighing.

"What feeling?"

"It's a feeling of elation that we caught the killer, but heavily overlaid with a feeling of sadness. The vic is still dead, his wife is a widow and the kids have no father. It sucks."

Rick suddenly found Kate's arms around his neck. "Try feeling this." She he kissed him and her tongue pushed its way into his mouth. Not that he resisted her. He felt her move and heard the rustle of cloth. She had taken off her jacket and then pushed her pants down and off. All she had on was her bright red bra and panties.

"Kate, we need…."

"To go to the bedroom." She unclasped her bra and threw it to the floor, followed by her panties. "We need to go now."

He put one arm around her shoulder and the other under her knees, picked her up and headed for the bedroom.

Hours later, sweaty, sated and entangled in the sheets, they cuddled.

"Kate, I need to tell you something. Something Important."

Kate glared at him. "If you're married, I swear I'll get my gun and…"

He put his finger on her lips. "God, no. I'm not married."

"What then?"

"When I first got into the Rangers, I was in my quarters one night and got a call from some of my friends. They were with a girl. She was nineteen, pregnant and she had just found out she was a widow. Her husband had been killed in Iraq. She was hysterical. My friends called me because I was older, so they figured I was more mature and would know what to do. I had no idea what to do, but I went anyway. She was hysterical for hours and I did nothing to help. There probably wasn't anything I could have done, but that's always stayed with me. I don't want you to end up like that. I have a very dangerous job. It could happen."

Kate rolled over on top of him and kissed him.

"I'm in kind of a dangerous job myself, so I've thought about that." She rested her head on his shoulder and spoke softly into his ear. "It's been ten years since my mom died and I've had this wall around my heart this whole time. Since I met you, things have changed a bit. I love having someone to come home to, or with. I love cooking for you, or having you cook. I really love Nikki Heat and I want a lot more of her." Kate sighed softly. "I've run into cops who were just like I am. No time for anything but the job. They end up lonely and bitter and they drink too much. I don't want to end up like that. And I don't want to marry someone like Will, who I don't love, just so I won't be so damned alone all the time. I know it won't be easy and we could both end up getting badly hurt, but I want to try. I want to see if we have a future. And if we do have a future, I want to grab onto it and not let go."

Rick stroked her hair. "You're extraordinary, you know that? Has anyone ever told you that?"

Kate frowned and pretended to think. "Told me? No, I can't say anyone ever has. Some guy did write something like that once, though."

"He was very, very accurate."

Rick and Kate became partners both on the job and off, but all good things must end, as they say. After two more months Rick was declared to be cured and returned to duty and then downrange.

Six months after he left, Kate found herself stalled in front of a nurse in the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC.

"I'm very sorry, ma'am, but we can't release any information about patients to anyone but their next of kin."

Kate tried to remain calm. "Sergeant Rodgers has no next of kin. All he has is me. I'm his fiancé." The last part was sort of a lie, but Kate would have happily claimed to be Rick's father if that would get her some information.

"Ma'am, I'm afraid I can't help you. You can submit a written request to Sergeant Rodgers and if he approves, we can keep you apprised of his condition."

"I don't want to send a damned letter to Rick, I just want to know if he's all right. Why in the hell can't you just tell me that?" Kate knew she was starting to lose it and didn't care.

"You must be Detective Kate Beckett." Said a man's voice from behind her.

She turned around to find an older man, about her height with brown hair smiling at her.

"You know who I am?"

The man nodded. "When one of our people writes a best seller, word gets around. Oh, I know you're supposed to be someone named Katherine Houghton. Don't worry. I won't let your secret slip out."

The man was wearing camouflage fatigues that were mostly greens, browns and black. She could see various patches and tabs on his uniform, but they were what Rick had called "subdued": Black against dark green and hard to make out. She wished she had paid more attention to Rick's uniform.

"Thank you. I appreciate that…."

"Oh, call me Stan. Why don't we get a cup of coffee and I'll see if I can find out anything about Rick. I know a few people here."

Stan led Kate down a hallway. He stopped and talked to a younger man, also in camouflaged fatigues. The young man nodded and took off down another hallway.

Kate finally found herself sitting in a cafeteria with a cup of surprisingly good coffee in front of her. Stan asked about _Heat Wave,_ apparently having read it very carefully. He asked about any further Nikki Heat books.

"We're writing _Naked Heat_ right now. I can't give you any spoilers though. Although, if Rick doesn't…." Kate began to cry.

Stan passed her a napkin to dab at her eyes and she quickly regained control over herself.

"I'm sorry."

"No need to apologize. I cry over my lost and wounded men myself."

Stan was interrupted when another man in fatigues gestured to him.

"Excuse me, Kate. Let me see what he wants."

Stan left and spoke quietly to the man. When he came back he was smiling.

"Good news. Rick is going to live."

"Thank God!" Kate said and began to cry again.

"However, he will never be a Ranger again. He could probably change career fields to something like finance or personnel, and stay in the Army, but I don't see him doing that. I think that before he met you, that would have destroyed him. I imagine he'll take a medical retirement. It's a good thing he has you now, Kate."

Kate nodded. "It's a good thing I have him, too."

"I'm afraid the doctors won't let you see him and he's too sedated to recognize anyone, but you should be able to see him in a day or two. I'll talk to some of my friends here and see that you get to see him."

Kate thanked Stan profusely and left. It was two very long days before she was back at Walter Reed.

"Hi, lover. How are you?"

Rick grinned as he looked up at her from the hospital bed. "Don't I look just fine?"

She shook her head and gave him a mild glare. "Rick, be serious."

"I'm one hundred percent better now that you're here."

She sat on the edge of the bed and took his hand. "Me too."

They looked at each other for long minutes. Finally, Rick spoke.

"I've missed you every day since I left. I haven't missed anyone like that since I lost my mother and Alexis. I love you, Kate."

She nodded. "I love you, too. I missed you like I missed my mom."

"The doctors told me I can't be a Ranger anymore. Do you think Captain Montgomery would still let me follow you around?"

"If he doesn't, he'll never hear the end of it from me."

"So, we're partners? Always?"

"Always? Are you sure."

"I've never been more sure of anything. Always."

"Then, partners. Always."

"Always." They said in unison.

 **Author's note: I'm still writing After Much Ado About Murder, the continuing adventures of Sir Richard and Lady Katherine Castle in Renaissance Italy. After a sea battle the two are going to face something far more deadly: Politics.**

 **I also have an idea for another short story. Kate wants Rick to be her partner, but Rick is unwilling. How far will Kate go to get what she wants?**


End file.
